South Bend Medical Foundation announces relocation plan after finalizing agreement with Beacon
South Bend Medical Foundation has finalized an agreement with Beacon Health System that will allow the pathology laboratory, blood donor center and administrative offices to relocate to a centralized location on Douglas Road in South Bend. Renovations will start in the weeks ahead and South Bend Medical Foundation will complete its move in the summer of 2022.
Founded in 1912, South Bend Medical Foundation provides pathology services to area hospitals and physicians, and it serves as the community blood bank. South Bend Medical Foundation sold its clinical laboratory business to LabCorp in September of 2019. The 50,000-square-foot Douglas Road location, which Beacon has leased from real estate investment firm ARC Global, allows South Bend Medical Foundation to move its operations to a building that better matches its current space needs. It will continue operations at 530 N. Lafayette Blvd., South Bend, until renovations are completed, currently estimated to be in the summer.
“Operations will be located on one floor, which allows for easy access for blood donors, a central location for serving our hospital clients and increased efficiencies for our organization,” said Jim Frain, Vice President of Human Resources, South Bend Medical Foundation.
The South Bend Medical Laboratory was originally housed in a former sewing room in the basement of Epworth Hospital in South Bend. In 1932, the laboratory moved across the street to expand into a house located at its current location. Two years later, South Bend Medical Laboratory replaced the house with a two-story building and additions were constructed as the need for services grew with the community.
Beacon expects to close on the existing 170,000-square-foot South Bend Medical Foundation building on North Lafayette in the coming weeks. Beacon has not announced plans for the eight-story building that is adjacent to the campus of Memorial Hospital of South Bend. The health system will lease space from SBMF to continue to operate Beacon Home Care Pharmacy, a compounding pharmacy, at its current location at 3355 Douglas Road.
